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The Reformation had a profound and everlasting impact on German society. Many historians perceive that the Reformation was a failure and that Martin Luther’s failings led to the rise of the totalitarian state and the demise of the German culture. Social historian Steven Ozment has a more compassionate view of Luther’s desires for Reformation in his book Protestants: The Birth of a Revolution. Ozment views Luther’s desires for Reformantion not as a political or social revolution but as a revolution of the individual. The focus of Ozment’s book is sixteenth century Germany and what it meant to be a Protestant. Ozment presents the argument that the Reformation started with the theologians’ sermonizing and pamphleteering the messages that then entered into law and public institutions and finally into the lives of the ordinary citizen. Ozment’s citation of several primary sources and direct challenges to other historians clearly demonstrates Ozment’s belief that Luther’s work within the Reformation was a positive achievement for German society. The study of the pamphlet allows us to understand how the Protestant message was heard by the layperson because the pamphleteers brought theology into the marketplace with their preaching. The pamphleteers wrote on several religious subjects, such as the abuse of the Catholic Church, teaching on doctrine, and how to respond to these changes in everyday life. Ozment explores the works of converted Franciscan friar Heinrich von Kettenbach. One of Kettenbach’s pamphlets, entitled Contrasts Between Anti-Catholic Behavior of the Pope and the Biblical Ministry of Jesus, exposes the Pope’s unbiblical behavior. Fictional stories such as Eberlin von Gunzburg’s pamphlet entitled The Lamentations of Seven Pious but Discontent Priests Who No One Could Comfort pretends to be a transcript of seven priests who have a private discussion of the burdens of the priesthood. The pamphlets raised the common person’s awareness of the abuse of the church and gave laymen spiritual self-confidence and a sense of equality with the clergy. Ozment states that the pamphleteers tried to “demonstrate the human origins of much church teaching and thereby to inoculate in the laity a healthy skepticism and defiance to tradition” (57). The pamphlets had a major impact on German society for the spread of Protestantism. The printing press allowed these publications to be more widespread. However, Ozment states that without the printing press, the Reformation still would have occurred because Germany was an oral society, relying on spoken word and not print. The preaching and teaching of the average person assisted them in their understanding of the validity of the Catholic Church’s practices. In response to the transformation of the convert’s lives, the pamphlet’s content was transformed as well. The pamphlet went from calling for change to serving as a guide of how to conduct oneself in daily life. Ozment gives the example of pamphleteer Heinrich
aegis 2004
Ozment, Steven. Protestants: The Birth of a Revolution. New York: Doubleday, 1993. 284pp. Jason McKinley
